(Photos by Markus Spring)
Sri Lanka (MNN) ― Two weeks after the Sri Lankan government declared victory over Tamil rebels, George Verwer with Operation Mobilization answered the question, "Is the war really over this time?"
"I think it is. In the past, I was always hesitant to say that in the past when there was peace. There were some periods of peace, but the government has won this war."
The war ended with the government's announcement that it had killed Tamil leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his son. A short time later, the handful of remaining Tamil fighters surrendered. It was a high price to pay for peace. There are estimates that 70,000 civilians were killed in the fighting during the last 30 years, as well as concerns that the number will increase.
The United Nations estimates that at least 7,000 civilians were killed in the bloody final push of the battle to defeat the rebels, the Tamil Tigers militant Hindus waging guerrilla warfare against a Buddhist government. They had been fighting for a separate homeland in the northern part of the country.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians were displaced by the battle that ended the war. Conditions in the camps clumped around the northern town of Vavuniya remain overcrowded and without adequate sanitation. Humanitarian aid agency Christian Aid worries of an imminent outbreak of disease outbreak in Tamil refugee camps in northern Sri Lanka.
Cooking pots, clean water, food, medicine and blankets are in short supply. Although OM does not have a lot of work in Sri Lanka, they do have history and they have relationships with those who are on the frontlines.
The work for rebuilding is just beginning. Verwer says, "We are overwhelmed by the challenge of all the refugees, and all the suffering and resettling people, so we have worked very closely with the churches. There are good churches in Sri Lanka."
Gospel For Asia notes that as the people return home, these pastors and other workers will continue helping them rebuild their lives in whatever ways are necessary. For some, that could mean ministering to families burying their dead. For others it could be providing food and other household necessities. Others may need new homes if theirs were destroyed in the conflict.
With the end of the war, GFA-supported missionaries will also be praying for their country's leaders as they plot a course for the future.
Is there finally relief for the persecuted church? Verwer says probably not. Sri Lanka is still a divided nation. "There's an element of Sri Lanka that is very fanatic Buddhist. They are persecuting Christians; they're burning churches down. So the Christians are not necessarily dancing in the street right now, and it looks like the persecution of Christians is going to continue and increase. A lot of misinformation has been spread about Christians."
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